Problems and Solutions
by Fine Form
Summary: Draco Malfoy has a problem and thinks of a solution to it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all characters, settings, etc. I do not own anything.

Draco Malfoy sighed. Next to him, Hermione did not wake at the noise. She had been sleeping a lot lately. The pregnancy was tiring on her petite frame. He put a hand where their child lay. There wasn't a reflexive movement on the child's part and he rationalized that it must be sleeping.

He did not know what to do. He had spent many sleepless nights attempting to find an answer to the problem. The problem was this child. His parents would not approve of this child. They did not approve of illegitimate children. He thought back to all the times his mother had scorned women that had children out of wedlock as "easy women without dignity". He was sure his mother would've been accepting of his love child and she would've insisted he ask the mother to marry him in an attempt to correct the scandal. However, he knew his mother and father would not be accepting of his love child nor would they insist he marry the mother because the mother was Hermione Granger of all women. Hermione Granger was a Muggleborn. Muggleborns were tolerated by the Malfoy family now that the Dark Lord had been defeated but, only for business purposes. Associating with Muggleborns was good for business and public image. However, marrying and breeding with Muggleborns were different scenarios. The Malfoys preferred to stay purebloods.

Even if his parents did insist on him marrying Hermione Granger, he wasn't sure he'd ask her to marry him. It was Hermione Granger. His younger self would've scorned him for getting involved with the annoying Gryffindor know it all. She was annoyingly knowledgeable. She was always correcting him, insisting her methods were always better, and everything was a debate with her.

There wasn't much to her looks. She was rather plain looking. Before the pregnancy, she had been thin. Now she was soft and rounded out. Her breasts and buttocks had plumped, but not as much as her burgeoning belly. With her short stature she appeared to be farther along than she actually was and she had taken to complaining of that lately. She moaned that her feet and ankles were swollen, that her back hurt, and urged him to massage these areas. He did sometimes but, most of the times he simply lied; stating he had other issues to attend to. After all, he was Draco Malfoy: a very important investor.

She expressed disappointment at his aloofness often these days. However, her hormones seemed to drive her to ignore this by the end of the day as she wouldn't recoil at his sexual advances. Lately, it seemed that he was just interested in bedding her. However, getting what he wanted in the bedroom was becoming exceedingly difficult as she complained that certain positions were uncomfortable and her growing belly was often in the way. It made him want to cringe and filled him with shame to be bothered by this.

She was a lovely person...when she wasn't pregnant and constantly moaning at him. Perhaps, she would go back to her normal self when she gave birth. He had been holding onto this idea for a while. As the pregnancy progressed, he gradually lost faith in this idea. He doubted this child would bring back the spark in their relationship. If anything, it would mean Hermione badgering him on about how he wouldn't help enough with the child.

The child...He wasn't prepared to be a father. There wasn't any doubted in his mind that getting involved with Granger had been a mistake when she told him she was pregnant. He had seen this as a temporary affair. They were young and curious about each other. He had always thought that they would part their separate ways and act like this affair had never happened. After all, who would think that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were a compatible couple and fit to be married to each other?

Apparently, Hermione Granger did because she had mentioned buying a house together this evening. She had smiled at him and waited for his response. He had smiled back and said, "Maybe." His lie must've been convincing because she pecked him on the lips.

This had led to him thinking about the future of their relationship for the rest of the night. She behaved normally, if not a tad more loving than usual. He had tried his best to follow her act while thoughts invaded his mind. Thoughts of leaving her…

He covered his face after tossing in bed. Just thinking about abandoning her filled him with anxiety. But, so far this was the best solution to the problem. He wasn't a masochist: he wouldn't condemn himself to be tied down to Granger, the illegitimate child, and have his parents ostracize him.

He spent the rest of the night justifying abandonment to himself. He was doing all parties involved a good service. Granger would be devastated in the beginning about the prospect of being a single mother but, she would be grateful in the long term. She would be free to find someone else to spend her life with. She would no longer be snubbed by the Weasleys and Potter for fraternizing with the Malfoys. She wouldn't have to worry about explaining his and his family's dark history to the child: she could simply make up a story about how heroic and Gryffindor-like he was. Granger also wouldn't have to worry about being cordial to his parents. She had always been hesitant about mentioning them. How could she not after she was tortured in their house and was the epitome of the type of Muggleborn they hated?

The child was the one that benefitted most from him leaving. The child wouldn't know the difference. It wouldn't grow up wondering why its father had been involved with the Death Eaters and dealing with the incessant questions its peers would ask about him. It also wouldn't have to deal with the prejudice from Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. The child would be spared of having to deal with his inept attempts to be a good father. For Draco knew that fatherhood would not come naturally to him. He had been a bully: it could be expected that he would accidentally mock the child in attempts to be a constructive critic and then try to make up for his slips of tongue with expensive presents. The child would not grow up spoiled in Granger's hands and it wouldn't be pompous for sure.

Furthermore, the entire Malfoy family would benefit from being ceasing to be involved. His parents would never have to know about the illegitimate child. It was save the family shame and added strain onto their already strained relationships. He would be free to live his life normally again. He would have more time to dedicate to work, to his own happiness...It was really the best solution in the long term.

And with his actions justified, he got up at five in the morning. He rubbed Hermione's belly one last time, smiling sadly at their child's reflexive movements. He proceeded to pack his essentials quietly with magic and left the flat.

 **A/N: I'd appreciate some feedback. I was thinking of extending this but, let me know if it's better as a one shot.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all characters, settings, etc. I do not own anything.  
 **A/N: I appreciate the feedback I received and would like to thank you.**

Hermione stared at the newspaper. She had read over the small announcement four times.

 _Manfred and Europa Greengrass alongside Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are pleased to announce the wedding of their children Astoria Greengrass and Draco Malfoy. The wedding took place the seventh of this month at the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. The couple has told The Daily Prophet "We are delighted by all the felicitations and we are excited to start our new life together."_

Hermione folded the newspaper as to cover the moving image of the smiling Malfoys. The image was now embedded in her mind. Astoria Malfoy wore a dazzling smile. She looked beautiful in her lacy white wedding dress with her blond hair pulled into an elegant up do. She embraced her new husband lovingly. Draco looked proud and had a big grin plastered on his face. His blond hair was slicked back and black robes looked elaborate even in grayscale.

Hermione wanted to tear the newspaper into tiny pieces. To see the smiling Malfoy's monochrome faces go up in flames. But she refrained from tearing and incinerating the newspaper and tossed it in the dust bin instead.

She was angry. However, she was not angry at the world. It would be useless to be angry at everyone and everything for one person's mistake. Hermione wasn't a bitter woman trapped in the past. She was simply resentful of her former lover for his selfish actions and blatant disregard for others.

When she had accepted that he was not returning, she had felt stupid for not seeing this possible outcome. Four years ago, she had woken up to find herself alone in their bed. He was nowhere to be found. However, she had taken to denying that he had left when he noticed his clothes gone. Perhaps he had gone on a business trip he forgot to tell her about. He would return in a few days and she would make sure to tell him off. To tell him he was selfish and inconsiderate.

She never got the opportunity to berate him. He did not come back when the baby was due. He didn't come back on their daughter's first birthday with an exceptional story of why he had been gone for more than a year nor did he return in the subsequent years.

With each passing year, Hermione lost hope of his return. Maybe it was because as she saw more of life, she realized that not every problem had a clean cut solution. This was something she saw often in her line of work in the Department of Law Enforcement. Laws were rules for a civilization. However, no matter how eloquently phrased and detailed the laws were written, there always seemed to be loopholes. Loopholes created messy situations in which the solution to the problem never seemed to be evident.

It seemed to Hermione that this translated into her personal life. There wasn't a clear solution to the problem that was Draco Malfoy's abandonment. His future return would not solve anything. In fact, Hermione knew it would complicate matters. Their daughter and everyone else in Hermione's life would ask where he had been. Hermione would be forced to admit that she had been lying to a large portion of the people in her life; relationships would be tested.

It was not directly lying; it was omission of information. It wasn't anyone's business where her daughter's father had gone. However, this did not stop anyone from speculating that her daughter's father was a Muggle. No one had known of her relationship with Draco Malfoy. He had always insisted on keeping their romantic endeavors private. Hermione had not found this strange in the moment because she did not think that this relationship would be long term. She had been curious about the former Slytherin schoolboy that had taunted her. Perhaps it had been a desire to fulfill a fantasy on her part: a forbidden affair.

In hindsight, everything was obvious. They were young. He was Draco Malfoy and she was Hermione Granger. He did not want any sort of commitments; he had made that clear when he was adamant on keeping their relationship a secret. Hermione had convinced herself that she too did not want commitment from the albino ferret. But, in hindsight, she knew that she had simply been desperate to feel like a teenager. She had wanted to feel reckless and dare devilish after spending much of her adolescence being responsible. It had been a rebellious phase in dealing with the aftermath of the war. She had been throwing caution to the wind on her own terms.

For her it had been a phase. For Malfoy it had always been part of his character. He did not care for others and was not keen on being considerate of other's needs. Hermione had begun to notice this aspect of his character extending into their relationship when she would ask him to do small things for her like massage her feet after a stressful day of work. He would often refuse to and brush off her chatter about the day's trials and tribulations. Hermione had felt embarrassed after he brushed her off. Their conversations had become short and dry. He never seemed to have anything to say and she was running out of things to say to him. He had grown tired of their political and philosophical debates: claiming she always shoved her opinions too far down his throat to the point where it was annoying and redundant. So debates had been taken off the table and substituted by discussions about her pregnancy.

This had become a monologue. Hermione had the most to say about the pregnancy as she was the one experiencing it firsthand. Malfoy would grunt and occasionally ask a question in response to her babbling about new symptoms. It had been Hermione's way of attempting to include him in the experience. In retrospect, she felt it had been useless. There wasn't including Malfoy in something he did not want to be a part of. He had never explicitly stated that he did not want to be a father. He had smiled proudly, much like he was in the current _Daily Prophet_ image, when she had told him of the pregnancy. She had been apprehensive then and now Hermione knew it had been for a good reason. However, Malfoy had been quick to soothe her worries stating he was proud and happy that she was carrying his child. Hermione snorted upon recalling his words. _The pompous prat was happy that he was fertile; not that he was going to be a father._

So he had left overnight and Hermione had been left to deal with the consequence of their affair. Artemis Granger had been born two months after his departure and had shifted her priorities. She found it better to ignore Malfoy's existence and to ignore the anger and disappointment she had toward him.

However, it was always hard to not think of Malfoy when a friend would occasionally ask about Artemis' father. Often it was one of the Weasleys or Harry pressing her to confide in them. But, Hermione did not wish to confide in them because of their prejudices toward the Malfoys. She did not want to tell them that Artemis was a Malfoy. Hermione did not want them to tell her daughter of how awful her paternal family was and quickly tell her that she was the exception of course. Artemis was nothing like those vile Malfoys with their blood prejudices and dark alliances. Artemis was a child and she did not need to have people judging her for her involuntary blood ties. She did not need to be confused about the intricacies of morality when she was still stumped on where snow came from.

Furthermore, Hermione was grateful that her daughter did not resemble the Malfoy family at first glance and she had not displayed any signs of magical ability thus far. This had been a blessing as it supported the rumor that her father was indeed a Muggle, not Draco Malfoy. After all, a Muggle and Muggleborn parentage was conducive to a child not demonstrating magical abilities and perhaps being a Squib. But, even if Artemis was a Squib, Hermione did not feel it would be a problem as she was preparing Artemis to live in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. Perhaps it would be more beneficial to Artemis to get away from the world where her parentage was not celebrated and where it was a possibility to run into her negligent father.

Hermione closed her eyes. She would not allow herself to think of the calamity that could occur if an older Artemis interacted with Draco Malfoy. Hermione was not delusional; she knew she could not take away the resentment a child was bound to feel for being abandoned by a parent. She just hoped that Artemis would have the emotional capacity to deal with the feelings adequately.

Hermione was snapped out of her contemplation by a loud meow. _Artemis, what are you doing this time?_ She made her way into the living room to see a little girl with wild brown curls poking at her elderly Crookshanks. She was giggling and ran toward Hermione upon seeing her. Hermione picked her up and hugged her. She relished the smell of Artemis' shampoo, her giggling, and her tight embrace. With a proud smile that rivaled Malfoy's, she thought _Malfoy will never know what he's missing._


End file.
